Closet
by RubeySlippers
Summary: So I'm kind of in love with one of my roommates. But before I tell him that I should probably tell him I'm not gay, right? I mean, I only told them I was a lesbian so they'd let me move in. AU/AH EdwardxBella little bit of the femslash too
1. Jessica Stanley Is An Ugly Cow

**Another new story. Exam fever has hit, I guess. Enjoy.**

* * *

The first time I kissed Rosalie Hale… Well I guess technically she kissed me.

See, we were lying on her bed sharing a pack of gummy worms. We were sixteen, it was four in the afternoon and she was helping me dissect the conversation I'd had with Peter Rivers in biology class. She was trying to convince me he wasn't worth my time, probably because I had the biggest crush on him and he was dating Charlotte Fitzpatrick. She was trying to let me down easy, I think.

So, I was going on about the way his eyebrows kind of wiggled at me in this way that he had, and Rose just sighed and said, "Shut up, Bella."

But I didn't, I kept rambling and then I felt her mouth on mine. Like, _right there_, her lips on my lips. Her bedroom door was open and I could hear her mum in the kitchen and I remember thinking it felt kinda nice.

Like, her mouth was all soft, not like a boy's, and she tasted like cherry from her lip balm. And I don't really know why but I kissed her back. Her hand touched my hip and she pushed me, so I was on my back. And then I was full on making out with my best friend I'd had since kindergarten.

She was definitely more into it than I was. She pushed at me, her hands pressing at my stomach and my hips and I didn't really know what I was doing, I just held her in place while her tongue moved against mine.

And then my cell phone buzzed from the pocket in my jeans. It was a text from my dad, telling me he was leaving work and did I need a ride home because he could come pick me up. So told him yeah, that'd be great, and silently started packing up my shit.

Rose just sort of sat on the bed and watched me. "See you tomorrow, Bella." she squeaked.

And Rose never _squeaked_. She was the most beautiful, most confident girl I knew, and she was never embarrassed. When I finally actually looked at her she was sitting right in the middle of the bed, arms curled around her knees. Her face was all flushed and her pink lip balm was smudged the tiniest bit, just on the left side of her top lip.

I was sort of running on autopilot and my hackles got up. I was angry—with myself. Because I'd put that look there and _no_ _one_ hurt my best friend. Not even me.

So I crawled back on the bed and kissed her, just quickly, a soft little kiss on the lips. "See you tomorrow Rose," I whispered.

And practically ran out the house.

And the next thing I knew we were doing it all the time. Making out in her room, in my room, in the living room when no one else was home. But never in public and never in front of anybody. Not much changed publicly—we'd always held hands and played with each other's hair and stuff. But we were girls and best friends and no one thought that was odd.

Being with Rose felt… better than being with a boy. Better than what being with Peter Rivers probably felt like. Because she was my best friend and there was nothing I couldn't tell her and nothing she couldn't tell me.

We weren't like, _in love_ with each other. But we fit, and the sex was hot. We were so comfortable around each other, I just felt so free and safe with her.

So we stayed together for the rest of high school. Everyone teased us; they called us the Twin Marys, because we never went out with boys. We were both still virgins when we graduated, technically. Just because we'd never had a penis between our legs didn't mean we hadn't… experimented.

We even went to the same college, we both got into Brown. And no one knew us there and it was nice. We held hands in public sometimes even. Once, at a party, we were both a little drunk and I got brave. I kissed her. We were in the corner of the room but it still didn't go unnoticed. Boys catcalled and girls gasped. It sort of encouraged me and I pressed harder against her mouth, pulled at her hips a little more.

Nothing came of it though. Party-goers thought we were drunk girls fooling around. We didn't come out of the closet or anything. Actually, I don't know if I was ever in the closet to begin with. I've never liked girls any more than I like boys. I think I just like being with Rose, and no one else I've met holds a candle to the bond we have.

I pledged in my freshmen year. Rose didn't and couldn't understand why I wanted to. I think she got jealous because I was hanging out with a whole bunch of girls that she didn't know. Like I'd ever have hooked up with any of them, ew.

I moved into the sorority house in sophomore year. I had to share with this girl named Jess. I didn't really like her, she was mean and bitchy.

One night, after we were coming back from a party I told Rose to sleep over. She was drunk and I didn't want her walking to her dorm by herself.

We thought Jess was asleep. We also thought we were being quiet.

She wasn't and we weren't.

I was kicked out a week later. Apparently my behaviour was 'antisocial' and 'couldn't be tolerated.' I may have punched Jess when I found out what she did but that's beside the point.

So now I'm here, fulfilling my two weeks of court-appointed therapy because Jessica's family has money and well yeah, I did break her nose.

Happy, Doctor? I hope this shows you just how remorseful I am. Did I mention I'm homeless now? No one has a room available this late in the semester. I'm stuck in Rose's tiny single-unit and we're driving each other crazy.

Thanks a lot Jessica Stanley. I'm really sorry I fucked up your face. Not.

#

I stuff the letter into an envelope and seal it shut. The good doctor wanted me to write shit down, well here it is. I hope she enjoys the gossip.

I stuff the envelope in my bag and pour myself a glass of milk. My last appointment is in an hour and then I have to do some serious apartment hunting. All the nice places are taken and now it's time to check out the crappy ones.

"You off, babe?" Rose is still in bed. I've been up since five, writing this stupid letter. It felt kind of good though. Not that I'll tell my therapist that.

"Yeah, I have my last appointment and then I'm free for the day. Wanna help me look for a room?"

Rose frowns. "You can just stay here, you know that."

I look at all the boxes of my stuff. All of it wouldn't all fit in this tiny apartment but I don't want to throw any of it away. And I want my own room. And my own bed.

"You know I can't do that, Rose. I gotta get outta your hair."

She frowns and I pretend I don't see it. "And I have to go. I'm going to be late." I grab my stuff and shove my feet into my chucks. "Laters."

"Hey," she protests. "I want a kiss goodbye."

Oh yeah. I grin at her and give her small, very chaste peck on the lips. She grabs for my hand, running circles on the back of it with her thumb. I need to leave, I'm running late.

"I have class. Text me when you finish." She leans up and kisses me.

"Will do." I say.

She kisses me once more and I dash out the door. The bus at this time of day takes forever to get to my therapist's office. I'm only five minutes late by the time I get there but she's running ahead of schedule, of course.

"Good morning Bella," Dr Mason smiles her generic, lipsticky smile at me.

"Morning, doc." I drop down in the comfy armchair across from her. I could do with another couple hours sleep and this chair is so soft. But the good doctor wouldn't like that.

"Did you get to write your letter?"

"I did." I pass her the envelope from my bag and she takes a couple minutes to read it.

"You've been dating Rosalie for over three years?"

"I wouldn't call what we were doing _dating_." I tell her.

"What would you call it?"

I shrug. "I don't know. Hooking up? Friends with benefits?"

"For three years? And you've never had a male partner?" She seems surprised. Did she not just read the letter?

"Well, I had boyfriends before I started hooking up with Rose."

Dr Mason nods. "I take it you still don't feel sorry for punching Miss Stanley."

"She got me kicked out of Theta and now I'm homeless. And half my friends aren't talking to me anymore 'cause they think I'm a dyke. Like it's a freakin' disease. Forgive me for not liking the girl."

Dr Mason looks at me pensively. I untie and retie my shoelaces, waiting for her to give her opinion on my life, like she likes to do.

"I think, Bella, that maybe you need to figure out what your friend Rosalie is to you. She seems to be at the centre of your trouble but you don't blame her for any of it, which is admirable. And you say you love her but you don't see her as your girlfriend despite the sexual nature of your relationship."

"So?"

"_So_, Bella, this is your last session with me and I don't think we've hardly scratched the surface."

_That's a double_ negative, I want to say. But instead I say, "I'm not crazy."

"No, I didn't say you were. I just think you don't like to talk about things, or pigeonhole anybody. You don't like labels, I get that, but you might benefit from a little clarity in your life. Is all I'm saying." She raises her eyebrows at me like a scolding mother. She does this, tries to talk _young_, or something. All it does is make her sound stupid.

"Ugh." I roll my eyes. "What's wrong with not wanting labels?"

"Nothing. But for _you_, it might be good."

She continues her attempts at convincing me to talk to Rose for the rest of the session. When the hour is up she seems disappointed, even. I shake her hand and she wishes me luck with all my endeavours. Her words, not mine.

I leave the building and take a look at the notice board in the lobby before I go. It's overcrowded with pinned-up fliers and leaflets. One notice grabs my attention. It's just plain paper with the information scrawled on it in permanent marker.

_Roomate Wanted. One room, to let. Kinda big. Fully furnished. Three male roommates. Interested parties call Edward Cullen_.

The number below is so messy I can hardly read it. Normally I would have taken one look at it and moved on. But after all Dr Mason was saying about how my world revolves around Rose, it might be nice to have some sort of guy presence in my life. And Rose might find it better than the sorority house—no girls to compete with.

I plug the number into my phone and give it a call.


	2. Success! Finally

**Second chapter. Up quick because I was bored and it was already written.  
**

* * *

Rose is eating her spring roll and getting flakey bits all through the blankets. I hate it when she eats in bed and she knows it.

"So I have a place to check out tomorrow, wanna come?" I ask her.

"So soon? Where is it?"

"Not that far from here, you know Brooke St?" I take a bite of chicken and noodles. Some sauce gets on my chin and I wipe it off with my thumb.

"Oh that's close. What time? I'm free in the afternoon but I can get out of my morning class if you want."

"I said I'd pop round after lunch."

"Is it a place by yourself or…?" She looks hopeful. She'd like it if I didn't have any roommates.

"No, there are three guys already living there. One of them just broke up with his girlfriend and they need help with the rent. I'll be getting their old gaming room, apparently."

"Oh ok." I was right, Rose is visibly disappointed.

"Hey, I thought you wouldn't want me living with girls." It works. She's happy I thought of her, it shows on her face.

"That's true," she laughs.

I go to sit next to her on the bed, leaving my food on the table. "So, you'll come with me? Help me check it out?"

"Yes, I will."

#

We meet for lunch and walk to Brooke Street together. I keep my hands in my pockets the whole time, protected against the late autumn breeze.

The front yard of my potential new home is old and dead, the grass is flat and yellow, and littered with rubbish. I knock on the old front door and it opens almost immediately.

"Bella?" He has messy hair and he's wearing basketball shorts with an old thin T-shirt. It's white and faded from use so much I can see his nipples through it. I recognise his voice from the phone call yesterday.

"That's me. Edward, right?"

"Hi. Nice to meet you. Sorry, I just got back from the gym. Come in, come in."

We step inside and the floorboards creak under the carpet. "This is my friend Rose," I explain.

"Rose, hi. Edward." He points to himself and smiles. He's a good-looking guy, tall, with a straight nose and nice cheekbones. I can tell through the T-shirt that he works out.

"Nice to meet you," Rose says in her polite voice. He hasn't made a good impression.

"So, I guess I'll give you a tour. That's my room," he gestures to the door to our right. That would be why he answered the door so quickly.

"And that's Jasper's room right opposite mine, and Emmett's is upstairs. So is yours, if you decide to move in. The living room is this way." He takes us down the hall and more floorboards creak. The living room is nice, with four couches surrounding a large TV. I'm guessing they spend a lot of time watching sport. It's open, the only thing separating the kitchen from the living room is an island. The landlord has obviously done some renovating recently.

"The kitchen is pretty small but we don't really use it a lot. So we don't have a lot of pots and stuff. I don't know if you cook or anything...?"

"Yeah, I do. But I've got _pots and stuff_." Presents from Rose, who loves my cooking.

"Cool." Edward just nods his head. "So, bathroom downstairs, just round the corner there. And there's on upstairs. It's just toilet down here, toilet and shower upstairs. So far so good?"

"Yeah, it's actually a really cool place you have here." I like the layout, open but cosy.

"Yeah, we like it."

"Are you all at uni?" asks Rose.

"I am, and so is Jasper. He's doing his Masters so he's not really here a lot, and I'm just finishing senior year. Emmett works as a security guard over at the art museum. He should be home soon I think, so you'll be able to meet him."

He takes us up the stairs, which, of course, creak loudly. The second floor is nice and the space fills with sunlight from the big window facing south.

"So here's the room," Edward takes us through an old door to a large room with hardwood floors. There's even a window seat, looking out down the street. It faces north too, and gets the afternoon sun. There's a large bed, Queen at least, a desk and a chest of drawers, with the attached mirror and everything.

"Oh Rose, I love it!" I squeal. I think I even jump up and down a bit.

"My bedroom's right beneath yours so if you do move in you might wanna hold up on the jumping." Edward's warning is friendly and as I look around the old room I want to move in so badly.

"Is anyone else interested?" I hope the answer is no.

"No, you're the first and only one to contact me so far. I did only put the notices up yesterday morning though." Probably right before I went in to see Dr Mason.

I grin. "Can I take it?" I'm excited about this. I want to get out of Rose's space and back into one of my own.

"Bella," Rose whispers. "Are you sure?"

I turn to her. It's so quiet there's no way Edward didn't hear what she said so I answer her at normal volume. "I am. I love it."

"It's yours." Edward says happily.

I clap my hands. "Where do I sign?"

Suddenly there's a loud bang—someone opening the front door and letting it slam against the wall. "Honeys, I'm home!" yells a voice that booms up the stairs.

"That'll be Emmett." Edward rolls his eyes like the yelling is typical.

"Up here, Emmett!" Edward calls down the stairs. Sounds carries well in this house. "Bella's here. Remember I told you about her, yesterday?"

"Oh yeah." Emmett's footsteps bound up the stairs and he's suddenly taking up the whole doorway, this beefsteak of a man, tall and muscled.

"She wants the room."

Emmett's smile falters. Oh no.

"Bro." He nods his head to the hallway.

"Excuse me a sec." Edward follows him out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"What do you reckon that's all about?" Rose whispers.

"Dunno. Let's go eavesdrop." We don't need to try very hard, we just stand by the door and we're able to hear them perfectly.

"Bro, what did I say about girls? Look what happened last time." Emmett's obviously disapproves.

"_Bro_, we need the money. Like,_ now_. And so what if she's hot? No one else has shown any interest." _He thinks I'm hot?_

"Okay. Fine. But we have to have a 'Don't screw the crew' clause in the lease."

Edward laughs. "I'm serious!" Emmett hisses.

"Ok, fine. But she seems real nice so don't be a dick."

I take a long look at Rose, who looks back at me, puzzled. I open the door on the two boys.

"Hi. Sorry, couldn't help overhearing. You don't have to worry about me, I promise. I'm not gonna sleep with any of you."

Emmett raises one eyebrow and crosses his arms. Edward sighs.

"I swear." I take Rose's hand in mine, linking our fingers. "Me and Rose are kind of together. I don't exactly bat for your team."

The boys don't move, they just stare at me and Rose like we're aliens. This is why we don't let people know. But something in me tells me to trust these two. Rose squeezes my hand and we wait for them to respond.

"Woah," Edward says.

"Hot," breathes Emmett.

"Ew," scowls Rose.

I don't say anything.

"You might want to stay away from Jasper." Edward frowns. "He's from Texas."

"We're not trying to get married or anything." I find my anger rising despite myself.

"So you like…" Emmett studies us with his furrowed brow. I can tell what's running through his perverted head. He leers at us like we aren't people, we're just actors in some disgusting movie he would watch in his room, to whack off to.

"Make one rude joke and I'll push you down the stairs." My jaw clenches and Emmett's face drops. And then he smiles, goofy and friendly.

"I like her, can we keep her?" He turns to Edward with that face, and Edward laughs.

"Yeah, we can keep her. I'll get the lease."

And I sign right then and there. I look around the place a bit more, inspect the kitchen and its lack of everything. Rose stays by my side, wary of the two boys. But they're friendly and perfectly harmless. So what if Emmett likes to make jokes? He obviously knows when he's gone too far. And Edward really is very good looking. He takes a shower while Emmett tries to talk to a quiet Rose and I inspect the place a little more.

"Can I bring my stuff round tomorrow?" I ask him.

"Yeah, course. Jasper should be here and you can meet him. Oh! I'll get you your key, just in case no one's home." He dashes upstairs and it's the first time Rose and I are left alone.

"You really want to live here?" she hisses. "This place is a hundred years old, everything creaks, and it kinda smells. There's no way you're going to convince me to stay the night here."

I look up from the empty cupboard under the sink. There's not even dishwashing liquid. "Then don't. I like it here—it's open, it gets the sun and my room is _huge_. Did you see that window seat? And I can't smell anything."

"Bella, you're not listening—"

"No, you're not listening." I interrupt her even though I know she hates that. "I _want_ to move in here. It'll be fun."

Emmett's heavy footsteps blunder down the stairs and Rose refuses to talk any more. She's so private, but I already outed us, she doesn't need to worry about him.

"Here's your key. So, we'll see you tomorrow?"

I nod. "Thanks, for this. I've been homeless for weeks."

"You haven't been _homeless_, Bella." Rose always comes to my defence, even when I don't need it, even when the insult comes from me.

"I'm not staying at yours forever."

"Can we not talk about this right now?"

"Whatever." I turn back to Emmett. "So, I'll come round tomorrow. And I just pay into the account here?" I tap my copy of the lease.

"Yep. Simple, huh?"

"Sure is. Alright. I'll see you tomorrow." I stand and shake his hand. "Coming Rose?"

She gets up, warily eyeing Emmett. Why is she so untrusting?

"Tell Edward I said bye."

"Will do. Nice to meet you. You too, Rose." He has the gall to wink. I giggle. I think I like Emmett.

"Goodbye." Rose takes my arm and practically drags me from the house.

* * *

**...**


	3. Well That Was Interesting

**I have this research paper I should be writing right now and instead I'm writing steamy lesbian sex scenes. Sigh.  
**

**Warning: The femslash it is a-coming. ;)  
**

* * *

The next day Rose and I use her car to take my stuff over to Brooke Street. I get to use my key for the first time, since it appears no one is home.

"Seriously," Rose huffs, holding a box of dishes and pans. "This house is going to blow over in any strong breeze."

"Oh stop it, you're not cute when you whine." She pokes her tongue out at me in response. Very mature, she is.

"Wanna try out the bed?" I wink at her and she rolls her eyes. She was serious when she said no sleepovers here then. She didn't mind when I shared a room with Jessica-bitchface-Stanley, but when I have room to myself, with a bed that's a hell of a lot nicer than the one I used to have, she doesn't want to play?

Fine then.

"I have class in an hour. I'll unpack all this later." I take the box from her and dump it in the kitchen. "Come on."

I don't feel like being close to her right now. It's come on slowly, this feeling—ever since I got kicked out of Theta. I love Rose to bits, but I like my own space. And her place is so small I could never get away for just a bit, just to chill with some music or something. Living here will give me back some desperately needed _me_ time. If Rose lets me.

She's always been the pusher in this relationship. She kissed me first, she went down on me first… she said she loved me first, even before we started doing it. At the time I thought she was saying it like she loved me like a sister. But I think she was actually _in_ love with me. I don't know if I'm _in_ love with her. But I konw I wouldn't trade what we have for anything. I _do_ love her, there's no doubt of that. It's just… something I can't explain.

She knows all this of course. We don't keep secrets.

Rose grabs my hand and pecks my cheek hastily, running ahead to get in the car. I lock the front door behind me just as a tall, blonde guy comes up the yard.

"Oh, hey. You must be Bella." He smiles warmly at me. He's tan and has this slight Southern twang. It's subtle, like maybe he moved out of Texas a while back.

"Hey, yeah. Jasper, right?" I shake his hand. "I was just dropping my stuff off. There's a couple boxes in the kitchen I hope they don't take up too much room. I have to go into the lab now but I'll be back in a few hours to get rid of them, I promise."

"Don't worry about, we hardly use the kitchen." He's friendly, like the other two boys.

"Okay. Well, it was nice to meet you. I'm in a rush, sorry."

"S'okay. Bye Bella." He jingles his keys once and waves goodbye. I turn once, at the footpath. He's checking out my ass. Great.

I guess we know why Emmett wanted the 'Don't screw the crew' clause.

"That was the other roommate, Jasper," I tell Rose as I get in the passenger seat.

"Oh, does he seem nice?" She pulls out into traffic.

"Yeah. Nice enough."

#

"So, think you'll be okay with this?"

I stare down at the mouse, pinned spread-eagle by its paws. I can see its front teeth as it's head lolls back.

"At cutting up cute little Stuart Little here, all in the name of science?" I make a face at Ange, my lab partner. "You bet."

She laughs and passes me the scalpel and a pair of nail scissors. I cut the mouse with the scissor, right down the middle and then across the neck and hips. Jesus, he's still warm. And kind of smells.

The tumour is right there, easily visible. Its black and winds down the mouse's side like a slug. Cutting it out is slow but pretty easy. His spleen is another matter.

"So, found a place to live yet?" Angela is cutting at her own mouse and frankly, not doing too great of a job at it. How did she manage to cut the femoral artery? There's blood all over her gloves.

"Acutally yeah, just last week. The place is really cool, like old and brick, but the kitchen and bathrooms have obviously been renovated recently, do it isn't falling apart or anything."

"Yeah? I assume you have roommates?"

I cry out in triumph as I manage to get the spleen out in once piece. I put both specimens in petri dishes. Poor Stuart, now he just goes in the bin.

"Yeah, three dudes actually."

"Well that's a nice change I guess. From sorority house." Angela's sarcasm is kind of the only reason I ever talked her. But now she's the best lab partner I've ever had.

"It is actually. They're all really nice and only a little bit gross. Our schedules are all really outta whack so I don't see a lot of them."

"That's probably quite nice. I hate staying at Ben's 'cause it's always filled with boys and they can get so loud, you know?"

"That's 'cause Ben's friends are losers."

Ange sighs. "Yeah, they are." She rolls her eyes and we laugh. She's got her spleen out so we got to the safety hood to mash them up count cells.

Living with the boys has been a lot of fun, surprisingly so. I get along best with Emmett, who's loud and makes the _dirtiest_ jokes some of the time. Because he works he never has any homework so he's always free to watch TV with.

I've barely seen anything of Jasper but I've found out it was his girlfriend that moved out and left them high and dry. He's very relaxed though, and flirts openly with me. I have yet to bite, which I think kind of confuses him. With that smile and his hair I doubt girls often say no to him.

Edward is quiet, and as good-looking as ever. He asks a lot of questions about Rose. Not pervertedly, but like he's interested in how we deal with the stigma and how did I know I was gay, etc etc. I've told him a thousand times I'm only gay for Rose but he doesn't understand that. When he's not nosing in my business he hangs out with Emmett and me. I'm starting to like him more, but it's only been a week. Still early days.

Ange and I count cells and incubate and wash and dilute till my brain is fried. It's dinnertime now and I'm starving. I think there's some beef in the fridge, maybe I'll make burgers when I get home.

We wash our hands and Ange takes the last paper towel with a smirk. "So I'll see you at 1 tomorrow? We just have to feed the cells, I think. Should only take five minutes."

"Yeah, sounds good." I shake my hands to get most of the water off. Some of it gets on Ange and I don't apologise.

My walk home is nice this time of day. I text Rose and ask if she wants to come round for dinner. She replies with _yes please_ straight away.

"Honeys, I'm home!" I call as I open the door. Yeah, I picked it up from Emmett. It's fun.

Jasper's on the couch with a friend I don't know. "Hey, I'm Bella," I nod. Another thing I've picked up. Being a boy can be fun sometimes.

"This is Mike. Bella's our new roommate," he explains to his friend.

"Nice to meet you." Mike seems the straight-laced type, sitting like he has a rod up his ass.

"You too. Hey, I'm making burgers, you guys want some?" The meat was on special and this way I won't have to have freeze it.

"Burgers?" Jasper's eyes light up like Christmas.

"Yeah. Are the others around?"

"I want burgers!" Emmett yells from upstairs. There's no privacy in this house.

"Me too!" Edward calls out. He comes out of his room as he's pulling on a t-shirt. Damn he wears that six-pack well.

I text Rose to let her know I'm cooking for more than just us.

**Better make that dinner for six. Can you pick up a pack of burger buns on your way over?**

Apparently there's a game on tonight. I don't watch sport, never bothered to. I look around and notice the living room is a little tidier and the couches have moved.

"Are you guys having friends over?"

"Yeah, it's game night." Jasper looks at me like I should know this.

"You do this for every game?"

"Sometimes," Edward answers me with a shrug. I shrug back at him and turn to the stove. The open plan means I can see the TV from here and all the back of all the boys' heads.

Rose doesn't knock. She doesn't say hi to the guys either. She drops the bread on the counter in front of me and pokes me in the hip instead of speaking. She's quiet—doesn't want to draw attention to herself.

I grin and kiss her on the cheek. The thing about being girls is that most of our behaviour is never questioned by anyone. Girls touch all the time in public.

"Nice day?" she asks quietly.

"Yeah. Had to chop up Stuart though." I make a sad face and she makes a sympathetic sound. I look up at the TV and see Mike staring at Rose. Ugh.

We get into routine, making burgers and chatting. Rose is tall and loves junk food. Hamburgers are her favourite, and her metabolism means she can pretty much eat anything and still look fabulous. I'm shorter and I still pig out on food that's bad for me. But it doesn't get lost on me, I'm the curvy one in this relationship. I can still count my blessings though—my boobs are a good two cup sizes bigger than Rose's.

We get frying and the room fills with the smell of cooking meat. I open the windows to help air it out but the boys notice and act like it's ambrosia. Emmett keeps looking up and asking when he can eat. Edward has asked if he can help so many times that I get eventually give in and tell him to get the coffee table cleared. Jasper keeps silent but he still looks over, glancing between me and Rose.

I don't know if Emmett and Edward have told him about me and Rose. They said he was likely to go evangelical on me, about the sins of my lifestyle, so I think they've kept quiet. I couldn't give two shits about what Jasper may or may not lecture me about, but I'll stay silent to keep the peace.

Everything's done and we take the food through. Rose mouths 'upstairs?' to me, but I want to stay and be social. I'm sick of having to act like a social pariah sometimes.

I shake my head at her. "Scoot," I say to Edward. He moves over on the couch and makes room for us. I sit in the middle, leaning against Rose a little bit.

The boys are watching football. I've never even seen a game before, which my dad might find appalling but I couldn't care less. I'm here to be social, not for the game.

Edward talks quietly to me, trying to teach me the rules as I ask questions about what's going on. He tries talking to Rose but she's not as invested in faking interest as I am.

"I don't think I'm ever going to understand this game," I tell Edward.

"I'm sure if you just watch you'll pick it up." He smiles down at me. I look up at him and can't help wonder why he doesn't have a girlfriend. He's not as obviously handsome as Jasper but he could pull off sexy pretty darn well I think.

Next to me, as if sensing what I'm thinking, Rose's pinky finger grazes against the side of my hip, just above my jeans where my t-shirt has ridden up. I sit down further in the couch, opening my legs up so my thigh presses against hers.

She keeps her finger there, sliding it back and forth, for the rest of the evening. Eventually it gets dark and the game finishes. No one else came to watch and Mike goes home straight away, stuttering a goodbye to us all while he keeps glancing at Rose. I want to giggle at his lack of subtlety.

Emmett goes to get beer and Edward plugs his iPod into the speakers. He keeps the volume low so it's just background music.

"So." Jasper leans forward, elbows on knees. "Are you from Bella's sorority, Rose?"

"Ugh, no." She accompanies her disgust with an eye roll, just so Jasper is sure she never had anything to do with KAT.

"No? Then how do you guys know each other?"

I leave Rose to answer as I take the two proffered beers from Emmett, handing one to her.

"We grew up together."

"So you're like, BFFs?" He has this leery, dodgy look on his face. It's gross. Back off my girl, Jasper.

"Dude, turn the creep off, yeah?" Emmett knocks Jasper's chest with the back of hand as he sits down. "Rose is cool, k?"

Surprisingly he seems to listen to Emmett. He sits back on the couch and takes a swig of his beer. He oh-so-casually takes a look at his phone.

"Oh, hey, how was Stuart?" Edward changes the subject, thankfully. He knows all about my cancer-riddled mouse.

"Very sick." I frown. It felt bad to kill Stuart, I liked him. "His tumour was huge."

Edward makes a grossed-out face. "What's it like, dissecting mice?"

"Pretty cool actually. They're so tiny, you can see all their organs. And they have they _cutest_ lungs."

"Don't be gross, Bella," complains Rose.

"Just you wait, next year I'll be experimenting on rabbits and you're gonna hear _all_ about it."

"Rabbits, seriously?" Edward seems shocked.

"Oh yeah. The department takes all the cute, fluffy creatures and makes you kill them. Preferably slowly. They're cruel like that."

Edward visibly shudders and changes the subject. "So what do you study, Rose?"

"I'm pre-law."

"Really? That's got to take up a lot of your time."

"Not really." Rose is smart and hardly ever needs to study. She has one of those photographic memories you only see on TV. It's scary creepy sometimes, the way she remembers things.

"What type of lawyer do you want to be?"

"Don't know yet. Probably family law, but maybe contract or business. I change my mind all the time."

The rest of the night goes similarly. Rose hardly talks and when she does she's quiet and offhand. She keeps touching me when no one's looking or where people can't see. I know she wants to just go upstairs, or preferably back to her place but I want to hang out here. I should get to know my roommates. I don't want to just end up using this place as a room to sleep in and nothing more.

When it gets near midnight and the room starts getting cold I'm sufficiently buzzed on beer. The song changes and it's a fun beat, it makes me want to dance. Without thinking I grab Rose's hand and stand up, pulling her with me. I sway my hips slightly with the music, hoping she'll join me.

She doesn't, so I make a stupid baby face, pleading for her to just relax. It makes her laugh and finally she starts to—kind of—dance. I turn the music up and pull Edward out of his seat too.

Emmett and Jasper stay in their conversation on the sofa.

"Do you guys have any harder stuff?" I ask Edward, gesturing to the beer in my hand.

"Yeah, that cabinet over there." He points across the room and _bless_, the boys have a liquor cabinet.

"Classy," I laugh. I pull Rose over to help me make drinks. We choose rum and coke, because we're only twenty and frankly I hate drinking liquor straight.

I think Jasper must have texted a few people, or maybe it was Emmett, but somehow in just half an hour our living room is full of people I don't know. The music gets louder and someone bought a keg. Wow these people move fast.

I hang out with Rose on the couch. She sits close, sideways with her legs over mine. It's times like these, when I'm drunk and the music's loud, that I wish I could just kiss her. If she were a guy this wouldn't be a problem.

Rise sighs, like she knows what I'm thinking. She generally does.

"Wanna go back to mine?" she asks.

"How? You brought the car here and we can't drive back."

"Yeah, but…" she looks around pointedly.

"We could just go upstairs. The music's loud, no one will notice."

Her eyes tell me she doesn't like that idea. Well, stuff her.

"Come on." I push her legs off me and make my way up to my room. I know she'll follow.

It's only a little quieter in my bedroom. The music's the same volume but there aren't people around to add to the noise. The door opens and shuts, then the lock clicks.

Rose looks pretty in the dark, the streetlights shining orange on her face, making her look strawberry blonde instead of the yellow colour her hair normally is. (Take note; lemon juice in the summer does wonders for blonde hair.)

"I've been wanting to do this all night." She comes forward silently and joins me on the bed. The way she crawls towards me makes my insides turn to jelly.

Her mouth always tastes different depending on the Chapstick she wears. Tonight she tastes like watermelon. I lie back and she climbs on top of me, her thighs against my hips. She sits back and takes off her t-shirt slowly while I grind my hips underneath her. Her jeans are tight and I struggle with the button. It makes her laugh. Eventually we get her naked and I rub my hands all over her soft skin. I should probably exfoliate and moisturise like she does but hell, I'm lazy.

I slip a finger inside her and watch her roll against my hand. Her breasts sway with every movement she makes. I sit up to take one in my mouth, rolling my tongue around her nipple. She moans.

I love making her feel like this, seeing her in ecstasy, with her eyes low and her hair loose. She gets goosebumps on her stomach. I kiss her all over and add another finger, and circle her clit with my thumb. She comes quickly, shuddering and whimpering into my neck.

"You're going to drip all over my jeans, girl." I laugh but it's true. And these are my favourite pair.

Rose hops off me and crawls under the covers. As I take my clothes off I can feel her watching me. I do a little strip tease, flicking my underwear across the room. She giggles and crooks a finger at me. I join her under the covers.

Her body is so warm against mine, I can feel it everywhere. The way our legs intertwine and her arms wrap around my neck. Her tongue is hot in my mouth and her wetness rubbing on my legs makes me feel like I'm on fire.

"You're so beautiful, Bella," she whispers, moving my hair behind my ears so she can see my face.

"So are you, girly. You could give anyone a run for their money."

"Yeah but you have these." She takes both hands and laughs as she honks my boobs. "And these." She slides her hands down my sides and grips my waist tightly. "And _this_," she whispers, and her hands move around and behind to squeeze my ass. She massages my cheeks for a moment. "I do love your butt," she giggles.

"But you have _this_," I tell her, taking her face in my hands. "I love your eyes and your sexy little mouth. And don't forget about _this_," I tap her temple with my forefinger. "Your mind is _fabulous_ darling," I put on a voice and take the seriousness out of our conversation with a giggle. I hate talking heavy shit.

Rose kisses me hard and I whimper. "I haven't unpacked any of the toys," I whine.

"I don't mind. Tonight I just want you."

She flips me over and burrows underneath the blanket. I can feel lips on my skin and her breath as it blows lower and then hovers, right between my legs. I can't see her and it kind of excites me. Like maybe I don't know who's licking me right now, it could be anyone. It could even be a guy, for all I know.

A pang of desire hits me at the thought. I moan, too loudly, and Rose goes harder, adding her other hand to the mix. Suddenly I find myself imagining a man between my legs, doing this to me. Maybe he'd have some stubble that might give me a little burn the next morning. Maybe he has green eyes and messy hair and a six-pack that leads down to a little snail trail and—_OhmyGod I'm imagining Edward between my legs!_

Where the hell did that come from? The image doesn't go away though. It burns in my brain and I despite it I can feel my orgasm creeping up. Imagining my roommate, Edward Cullen, a boy, eating me out, is getting me so hot.

I come so hard, even Rose is surprised. It lasts a long time and I ride it out, feeling Rose's tongue and fingers against me. I'm sweating and biting my lip to hold in the noises I want to make. Rose laughs appreciatively beneath the covers.

"Wow," she says, poking her head out. "That was hot."

"I'll say." I'm still a quivering mess, I feel like I ran a marathon. "Can you do that again?"

* * *

**So, do you guys maybe want to review? **

**Because I would really, really like that. **

**I would. **

**Honestly.  
**


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